the hebrew school education that could have been

Nat Hentoff has a great article here which he opens as follows:

My Jewish parents had changed their lives – inner and outer – by coming to America. When their son was old enough to go to school, they were determined not to send him to the prestigious Hebrew school on the street next to where they lived in Boston.

No, the boy was to be more fully Americanized by taking a sizable walk to the William Lloyd Garrison public elementary school in the neighborhood.

More American even than most Americans, Hebrew school was not for Nat.  His parents wanted him to absorb the values of truth, justice, and the American way (if only those values could be re-released and re-invigorated as easily as a movie!)

Nat continues:

Were they here, my parents might have asked, “What happened to America?”

“His name,” I would tell them, “is Barack Obama.”

To Nat's credit, unlike most other so-called civil libertarians who beat the drum for civil liberty only when they can use it as a weapon to attack Republican administrations, he has been consistent in his criticisms of both Bush and Obama.  The vast majority, however, remain blind to their vision of a great liberal society being destroyed.  I feel bad for folks like Nat.  The gave up so much for the American dream only to wake up (those few who do wake up!) and discover that it was exactly that -- just a dream. 

Dear Nat: It's never too late to come back to get that Hebrew school education. 

P.S. Hello NSA, IRS, etc. snoopers here to add me to the enemies list : )